Description: The plant was named after Lyster H. Dewey, fiber specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture early in the century.

Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Agave angustifolia group

Agave angustifoliaHaw.: is a narrow-leaved agave with yellow to green flowers. It exhibits an extensive range of variation from which many cultivated varieties have been derived. Distribution: Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama. Naturalized in South Africa, Mauritius, Reunion, and Australia.

Agave angustifolia var. deweyana(Trel.) Gentry: not well marked with various cultivated clones. The type is a narrow leaf 5-6 cm wide, while later collections have wider leaves, 100-115 long and 7-10 cm wide, and more remote teeth. Distribution: cultivated, Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Agave angustifolia var. letonae(F.W.Taylor ex Trel.) Gentry: This is a robust, nearly white-leaved plant, developing a broad trunk with several years of leaf cutting. Distribution: cultivated. Guatemala and El Salvador.

Agave angustifolia var. marginatahort. ex Gentry: has broad white marginal strips and a more greyish colour. Distribution: cultivated as an ornamental around the world.

Agave angustifolia var. rubescens(Salm-Dyck) P.I.Forst.: has narrow, less rigid leaves 80-130 cm long by 3-4 (-5) cm wide. The cartilaginous margin of the leaves is very thin and inconspicuous. The flowers are small. Distribution: Isthmus of Tehuantepec to southern Sonora, mexico.

Agave angustifolia var. variegataTrel.: Is closely allied to var. marginata, but has the marginal white in unusual width and the remainder of the leaf silvery gray or milky. Origin: it has arisen in the botanical garden of the College of Science at Poona, India.

Agave tequilanaF.A.C.Weber: It is very similar to Agave angustifolia but has larger leaves, thicker stems, heavier inflorescences with larger ﬂowers and shorter tubes. Distribution: Cultivated in Jalisco near Tequila, Mexico.

Bibliography: Major references and further lectures1) Howard Scott Gentry “Agaves of Continental North America” University of Arizona Press, 01 February 2004